Heading West With No Destination In Mind - Part Ten

We started our day in Lake City, departing the In & Out Campground, with some of our Majestic Oaks family. For the first time on this two lane adventure, we are traveling with another rig. We followed 90 East to the 10A East, which is a bypass around downtown Lake City. We moved onto 100 East and entered Lulu, Florida. Lulu began when the Georgia Southern Florida Railroad came through the area and Robert Gillen, an original 1869 settler, convinced them to put a station there. The town was first named Hagen but mail got confused with another ghost town in Alachua County called Hague. It is

rumored that Walter Gillen, the Postmaster, renamed the town Lulu after his girlfriend Lula. There was two cotton gins, railroad depot, a one room school, three churches, and seven different stores (from 1900 until 1918) and two barber shops. The citizens of Lulu had hoped that their community would become a thriving town but the boll weevil came and destroyed the cotton business. All that remains are a community of proud residents who have lost their only general store and post office.  All that remains are many abandoned cracker homes, Lulu school, and the Gillen Family Cemetery. After Lulu, you enter Lake Butler, Florida. The town was named by an early surveyor and the reasons for the choice of "Lake Butler" are not clear. Late in the 20th century stories circulated that the town was named for a "Captain" Butler who died during the Seminole Indian War and was buried on the north shore of the lake. It was later proven that the heroic soldier who gave his life protecting the white citizens of the area did not actually exist, although the battle he was supposed to have died in did actually occur.

In Starke, Florida we picked up 301 South, also known as Rosa Park Highway. Starke may have been named in honor of developer George W. Cole's fiancée or in honor of Madison Starke Perry, fourth governor of Florida and a Confederate States Army colonel. The Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, adds that the city may have been named after "Thomas Starke, a slaveholder who once owned much land around the area." As we turned off of 100 onto 301, there was a motorhome mural on the side of the Revels RV Accessories building. It was originally commissioned in 2006 and painted by Kellyanne Fitzsimmons. Located just outside of Starke is the Lake Hampton Bed & Breakfast is a contemporary lakefront Florida Bed and Breakfast Inn. This modified A-frame retreat is nestled on 60 acres of open field and 200+ feet of waterfront stretching across a quiet 822 acre Cypress lake. This beautiful setting is surrounded by the sounds of nature to complete this relaxing atmosphere.

In Windsor, Florida you can visit the family owned Bluefield Estate Winery. In the summer of 2006, Jennifer and Bradley Ferguson starting making wine in their kitchen out of the blueberries produced on the family farm after the commercial harvest was complete. They anxiously waited for the first five gallons to be finished. Looking back they felt it was mediocre at best, but they proudly drank it, sharing with friends and family. Each year they produced more and more, and the wine was better and better. After sharing it with friends and family, and the repetitive suggestions of starting a winery, they decided to go for it that was the beginning of Bluefield Estate Winery. It has been a long and slow process going from the hobby of home-winemaking to a commercial winery.

We passed part of the Gainesville – Hawthorne Trail. It connects the university town of Gainesville with rural Hawthorne. This 16.5-mile trail makes for a great day trip, complete with a hill or two and plenty of wildlife. While the path roughly parallels State Route 20, it also traverses one of Florida's most environmentally sensitive areas: Paynes Prairie State Preserve. The well-maintained trail accommodates users with a 10-foot-wide paved path, regular trailheads and benches and even a convenience store here and there. Between the Gainesville and Lochloosa trailheads, equestrians are given free rein on an adjacent grassy trail. From its western endpoint in Gainesville's Boulware Springs Park, the trail soon leads to the Paynes Prairie overlook, and 2 miles from the trailhead you'll enter the preserve itself. This area boasted a thriving lake with routine steamboat activity until 1891, when a sinkhole drained the basin, leaving behind a mixed landscape of prairie, marsh and open water. Several trailside overlooks offer views of the prairie, home to bison, wild horses and numerous alligators.

As we approached Ocala, Florida there are numerous horse farms. Many of the horses in the pastures had colts, what a beautiful sight! A horse farm from days gone by is Irish Acres, it once was a prominent horse farm, now it is a defunct housing development. Ocala Drive In Theatre is a renovated Drive In Theater, re-opened after months of cleanup and repairs, preceded by years of the screen being dark. If you are nearby, please stop by!

In Summerfield, there was one of my favorite Florida sights … the majestic live oaks looming over the road, touching each other from either side of the two lane road and a little bit of Spanish moss hanging.

In WIldwood you can visit the Muddy Hammock Mud Park. It is a 100 acre entertainment complex, which is open 52 weekends a year. The canopies of the majestic live oaks create an inviting setting for an array of outdoor events. Current amenities include: open air bar, restaurant style food vending, 60 x 120 foot truck pull pad/stage/dance floor, 3 beach volleyball courts, a 35 acre jeep obstacle course and a 24,000 square foot mega truck track/mud drag strip and mud hole. Who wants to go four wheeling?!

We cut off 301 South onto 471 South. 471 is the straightest road we have ever driven on! Look at the picture, that road goes on as far as the camera can see! We passed by the Webster Flea Market. For more than 50 years, Webster Westside Flea Market has been a place to find everything imaginable every Monday! Many of the vendors have been in business there a long, long time.... some for more than 15 years. You can find produce, flowers, bakery, jewelry, plants, boutiques, antiques, musical instruments, canopies, electronics, food, drinks and many other products and services! They also hold a Car & Cycle Swapmeet once a month on the first Sunday of every month.

Withlacoochee State Forest is currently the third largest state forest in Florida and is divided into several distinct tracts of land. Withlacoochee State Forest was acquired by the federal government from private landowners between 1936 and 1939 under the provisions of the U.S. Land Resettlement Administration. Colt Creek State Park was purchased from the Overstreet Family in May of 2006. This 5,067 acre park nestled within the Green Swamp Wilderness Area and named after one of the tributaries that flows through the property was opened to the public in January 2007. Comprised mainly of pine flatwoods, cypress domes and open pasture land, this piece of natural Florida wilderness is home to many animal species.

We took 98 North for less than a mile and turned onto CR 54 East. Passing by our friends at Forest Lake Estates … Hello Tom & Bev!

We turned onto Chancey Road, heading west. Soon enough, we can tell we are close to home. There are the brightly colored canopies falling from the sky. We can see the sky divers from Sky Dive City. It is an awesome sight to see, and we are lucky enough to see them almost everyday!

Next we can see the entrance to our home … Majestic Oaks Carefree RV Resort! We are home, it is great to be home … but we are already thinking about our next two lane adventure!